Would you stay if she promised you heaven?
Coming near the end of our long Magical Mystery Tour, this time out we have a very famous song about a witch — perhaps second only to that one that starts with “Ding dong.”
“Rhiannon” is one of those records that, with its elegant, attention-demanding intro, sounds like it’s going to be a lot more interesting than it actually turns out to be.
The mythological Rhiannon did have some powers of enchantment, apparently, and Stevie Nicks’ lyrics are working hard to convey a magical nature. But what that ends up amounting to is “rings like a bell,” “takes to the sky like a bird in flight,” and “like a cat in the dark.” The images are so bland that they can’t really evoke much sense of the strange.
The only really strong image is the one (wisely) most repeated: “Have you ever seen a woman/Taken by the wind?” That does actually leave room for a bit of imagination.
It all sounds good, though, and wears well in that sense for a ’70s hit; the bass is complex but subtle, and the restrained energy in the guitars as they build toward the refrain (“Rhiannon, Rhiannon, Rhiannon, Rhiannon”) adds power without breaking the mood.
But what magic there really is in this silly record is in Stevie Nicks’ vocal. Even with a limited range, she was a fine pop singer, with a knack for making nonsense sound important — which was, given her ambitious but often disappointing songwriting, exactly the knack she needed.
Categories: Cheese Wizardry
1 Comment »
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August 9th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Thanks for writing this one Bridey!
This is one of my favorite songs from Fleetwood Mac
and I always enjoy listening to it again.
Considering everything going on with the band at the time
the song is interesting to me
Whatever the meaning behind the song
I believe it helped shape Stevie Nicks from then on
Thanks for this one!